It’s just after midnight. I’m sitting in my hotel room and my ears are still ringing. I just scarfed down the last slice of a pizza I bought two nights ago and I’m sipping from can of Pepsi Max, not because I wanted either, but because I needed them. I no longer have any sense of what day it is or when I’m going home. If it wasn’t for my work email app on my phone telling me that I have 666 new emails1, I’d have forgotten work even exists. However, the number of unread emails may be the universe’s way of providing a not-so-gentle reminder that at some point I will need to go back to work.
Iceland Airwaves Day 2 did not disappoint. It began with a near-perfect November morning – some blue sky and, shockingly, almost no wind. I walked down to Prikið for breakfast and marveled at how downright comfortable I was strolling the not-so-mean streets of Reykjavik 101 wearing a sweatshirt – no jacket, hat, or gloves needed. Not that you’d know it looking at some of the tourists in their Michelin Man puffy jackets with their hoods up.
I opened my festival day not with a musical performance, but attending a live recording of the Two Beats Ahead podcast. The interview guest was Valgeir Sigurðsson, noted musician and producer, as well as one of the founders of the Bedroom Community label. It was an intimate setting, both interviewer and guest sitting together on a sofa with a half dozen of us watching from a few feet away. Sigurðsson surprised us with the revelation that while he creates most days, he deletes over 99% of the things he records!
In the early evening it was back to Lucky Records for the event I’ve been most looking forward to – the record release show for Revenge of Calculon‘s first LP, the previously reviewed Manipulator. And let me tell you, the guys delivered with a high-energy set that had plenty of people dancing to their sleazy, funky beats and synth lines. Their live shows never, ever, ever, EVER disappoint, and tonight was no exception. The best thing I overheard in the crowd: “I’ve been coming to Airwaves for ten years. How have I never heard these guys before??” Preach it, brother. And spread the word.
From there it was a mad dash down to Gaukurinn, but unfortunately I had to wait in line for a bit. Luckily I made it upstairs in time to catch Virgin Orchestra‘s final three songs of psych-drenched post-punk, a mood-fueled solid wall of sound the reached into every nook and cranny of the venue, threatening to leave a psychic residue on all the surfaces. Their 2023 album Fragments got the vinyl treatment and is definitely worth picking up.
Next up was Lithuanian solo artist Migluma, who started beautifully until… all the power suddenly went out on her electronics about a minute into her set. As she and one of the venue techs tried various fixes you could see the emotion starting to build up in her, a combination of frustration and disappointment. The audience, however, remained on her side, and after probably 5-6 minutes they got her back up and running. The crowd showed their appreciation and support, and I can’t help but feel the additional emotional build-up actually resulted in a more intense show. She absolutely killed it, her haunting vocals channeling ancient rituals, the electronics at times somber, at others beat-driven. I am a convert and will proselytize her art to all who will listen.
I popped over to Kolaport next and was pleasantly surprised by the very fun Dutch indie collective Personal Trainer. As sometimes happens at Airwaves, you arrive at a venue early because there’s someone you want to see, and an act you knew nothing whatsoever about turns out to be a very good time. But tonight I came for the one and only Úlfur Úlfur, the duo that is responsible for one of the Icelandic-language hip hop tracks that really manages to cross over to non-Icelandic speakers because of the perfection of cadence and flow. I speak of course of the incomparable “Tarantúlur”, a song I desperately hoped, but didn’t expect, them to play. Tonight they came out with a pair of live musicians, a blistering guitarist named Reynir and behind the drums none other than Keli of Agent Fresco fame! The first 20 minutes of the set were songs from the new album, Hamfarapopp, which saw the heavily local crowd up front rapping along to all the verses. For the second half of the set they pivoted to classics, and I’m telling you when the first distinctive notes of “Tarantúlur” blasted out of the speakers I was in heaven. And the guys absolutely crushed it, the crowd bouncing up and down, arms in the air, one of those special moments you hope for but don’t often get.
All in all, another great day in the books. Two down, one to go!
- I swear to god this is true, as the image shows. I was going to mention whatever number it showed, because I knew it would be a lot. I didn’t know it would be the email inbox of The Beast. ↩︎